Drilling into lath and plaster Patch#

However, it’s really not the best idea as it can be an awkward job to patch up the hole, not to mention time-consuming.

Another way that you could check is by making a hole in the drywall so that you can see what is behind it.

You could either contact the contractor who built the house to ask them if the house has steel studs or check the documents from when the house was built if you have them.

There are several ways to identify if you’re hitting steel studs. New constructions often have steel studs, so if you determined that there is no other reason you’re hitting an obstruction and your house is fairly new, then that’s probably the reason why. If you find a furring strip, you can be fairly certain that you have found a masonry construction, and you will probably need to change your plan, depending on your reasons for drilling. Once you’ve found a nail, try drilling again a few inches on either side to see if you find wood.

A magnetic stud finder will help you to determine if this is the case as you’ll easily be able to locate the furring strips with it by finding the nails that are attached to them. Therefore, if you’re able to drill around 1.5 inches (38mm) through the wall before you hit an obstruction, it is likely to be a masonry construction that you have found. You’ll then find that there is a gap of around 3/4″ (19mm) before you will hit the brick or cement. This usually happens when you are trying to drill into an outside wall or chimney.Īs horizontal furring strips are used to attach drywall to masonry, you will often go through drywall that is around 5/8″ (16mm) thick. Sometimes, depending on where you are working, you could be hitting masonries such as brick or cement. However, if you still hit an obstruction, then there are a few other reasons why this could be happening. You’ll likely find a stud, which you should be able to drill through. If you do hit a metal plate after drilling through the drywall, then try drilling again around five inches (13cm) above or below. So, if you drill into the wall and it seems like you’ve hit an obstruction, then it’s probably a metal plate that is covering something important, and you know that you need to stop drilling immediately. Pipes and electrical wires are often covered by a metal plate to prevent you from doing just that. Walls hide a lot of things, such as pipes and electrical wires so that they’re not unsightly to look at, and you don’t need me to tell you that hitting any of these when drilling into a wall is a bad idea. Sometimes, however, even a corded drill won’t go through the material, in which case there are a few other reasons why it could be happening. However, make sure to keep the old one as it’s always handy to have a spare just in case the need arises. If this is the case, it’s probably a good idea to buy a new drill. If you can make a pilot hole with that drill, then you’ll know that your cordless drill lacks sufficient power to do the job. If it still won’t drill properly, try making a pilot hole with a corded drill if you have one. The best thing to do is to charge the battery and see if it will drill something easy like a pilot hole.

A dying battery often weakens a drill, so if you’re having difficulty drilling, especially through solid material, then it could be the battery causing the issue. If you’ve had the drill for a while, the battery could be starting to die. Dying batteriesīudget drills usually have cheap batteries that are not very good quality and don’t last as long as more expensive ones. It’s sometimes a good idea to use a dull drill bit for plaster and change to a newer one for the lath (wood) behind it. So, if you’ve been drilling through wood, masonry, or metal, and you then find that it won’t go through the wall, then try replacing it with a newer drill bit, which should sort the problem. A dull drill bit will also often struggle to go through wood too. As drywall is quite a soft material, your drill bit will probably still go through that quite easily even if it is dull, but it won’t go through the stud that is behind it. Plaster dulls or blunts drill bits quite quickly, and they can often become dull after making only a few holes. Most drills have a button that you can press to change the direction of the drill, and it’s important to make sure that your drill is in the forward position when trying to drill into drywall as your drill bit will not bite if the drill is rotating in the wrong direction. Drills rotate in a clockwise direction when they are in the forward position and anti-clockwise when they are in the backward (reverse) position.

Drilling into lath and plaster